Baltimore Start Your Engines For Revenue
The city of Baltimore is about to receive a major swing of revenue from the upcoming Grand Prix event in 2011. Since Dec 9th the event tickets went on sale to the public with a short private pre-sale the week prior. Organizers of the event stated that over 20,000 tickets have been sold to fans spanning across the east coast.
According to Jay Davidson (CEO of Baltimore Racing Development) stated that heading into 2011 the sale of over 20,000 tickets is incredible. Tickets range from $160 to $895 for a variation of three day passes.
This event will be hosted for the next five years in Baltimore starting on Labor Day 2011. Economically this event should create a strong presence not only in Baltimore but overall in the state of Maryland. This will be good for Maryland’s Economic advancement as we approach a new year.
For the residents of Baltimore the noise of the event may be a hassle, but the money generated from it will give these city residents a break. Not only will the city itself benefit from guests also residents with over 2,000 jobs becoming available from the event.
The hotels and restaurants of Baltimore will also benefit as thousands of people attend this event with the intention of spending money during their visit. The national media coverage of the race will be a good source of publication for Baltimore’s future leisure travelers.
The race is traditionally 2 miles in length and a part of the Izod Indy Car Series that will stretch past the Inner Harbor to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The event is generated to expect over 100,000 people and $11 million in city tax revenue. Organizers are also speaking about marketing a title sponsorship to the event, which is generally worth $1 to $2 million in revenue annually.
Baltimore Grand Prix is an event that will help the city with road repair too. With the race coming to Baltimore in less than a years time the process of making its streets better comes with it. The Baltimore Racing Development team and city officials are currently in the process of developing an event management plan that covers traffic, construction and public safety.
According to Councilman Bill Cole “We’re going to include the neighborhoods every step of the way, and we’re going to make sure they benefit from this race in a very significant way.”
Staging this event has become a new hope for city officials in bringing a greater publicity to the area like the Preakness has for Baltimore the past 100 years. The IRL is enthused about adding the greater Baltimore- D.C. area to their portfolio in hopes to attract a lot of new fans. While the state of Maryland is happy to host this sporting event with open arms in hopes to bring the area a new publicity and revenue.